Astronauts perform NASA's long-delayed routine maintenance on ISS

NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman checks his spacesuit in preparation for the first Expedition 41 spacewalk in this image released on October 7, 2014.(Reuters / Alexander Gerst) / Reuters

For the first time in over a year, a NASA astronaut has performed routine maintenance outside the International Space Station. It was a maiden spacewalk for both American Reid Wiseman and German Alexander Gerst who finished a job aborted last December.

The two men moved an
old, broken cooling pump from a temporary location to permanent
storage during a 6-hour trip outside the orbiting laboratory, 260
miles above Earth. The broken part had been temporarily stowed on
the station's truss ever since an off-schedule spacewalk last
December was scaled down before the astronauts finished the
job.

During the extra-vehicular activity (EVA), they also installed a
new relay system that will provide backup power options to the
mobile transporter, which moves the large robotic arm around the
outside of the space station, as well as replaced a camera light.

Gerst, designated as the second to leave the ISS (or EV-2), wore
a suit with no stripes, while Wiseman, who left first (or EV-1),
wore a spacesuit with red stripes. After the usual period of
initial acclimation to the atmosphere – or lack thereof – outside
the Quest Airlock of the space station and safety tether setup,
the pair went their separate ways to begin to prepare to move the
pump.

NASA Flight Engineer Barry Wilmore, who joined the crew in late
September, operated the Canadian robotic arm in support of
maneuvering Gerst during the course of the spacewalk and served
as the spacewalk coordinator. The German astronaut slid the pump
into its permanent slot – a large rectangular sheath formed by
white protective blankets – and then bolted it down. "Nice
work," Mission Control radioed.

Wiseman's exuberance was evident throughout the spacewalk,
according to the Associated Press.

"Wow, looks like we've almost got a full moon out here. It's
beautiful," Wiseman said as he emerged from the Quest hatch
into the dark vastness far above the Pacific.

The spacewalk, known as US EVA-27, was originally slated to occur
in August, but was postponed due to concerns with the batteries
in the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuits.
New Long Life Batteries (LLBs), as well as a 3D digital
printer, were launched to the ISS aboard the recent CRS-4
Dragon and the Soyuz TMA-14M/40S on September 25, and
subsequently installed into the suits, NASAspaceflight.com
reported.

In December, NASA’s Rick Mastracchio and Michael Hopkins successfully
removed the ammonia pump that had a faulty valve during an
unplanned spacewalk. But Mastracchio, who was feeling cold and
uncomfortable in his spacesuit, requested to go back without
elaborating on particular problems. “I'd like to stow this
old module and kind of clean up and call it a day,” he said.

During the return,
Mastracchio inadvertently turned on a water switch in the air
lock, compromising his suit. For that EVA, both men wore extra
safety gear as NASA was worried about the possibility of a helmet
malfunction. Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano almost drowned last
summer when his helmet was flooded with water from the cooling
system of his suit. Since the July 2013 incidents, all astronauts
have been equipped with water-absorbent pads in their helmets and
had snorkels in their suits in case a helmet should start filling
with water again.

A follow-up spacewalk is scheduled for October 15, to complete
more tasks that have been put on hold since NASA suspended all
but the most crucial EVA missions after Parmitano’s near-death
experience. That spacewalk will be conducted by Wiseman and
Wilmore. A week after that, two of the three Russians on board
will perform a spacewalk on their country's side of the orbiting
outpost. The Moscow-led spacewalks were unaffected by NASA's
spacesuit troubles.